The present invention relates in general to mineral mining installations and more particularly to conveyors for use in such installations.
It is well known in mineral mining, and especially in coal mining, to use a scraper-chain conveyor which is composed of a series of channels or pans arranged end-to-end and a scraper-chain assembly which is moved along the pans to transport material along the conveyor. Where valuable ores such as gold, are to be mined the ore-bearing material detached from the mineral face must be conveyed as far as possible without loss and this necessitates a modified form of conveyor. Various attachments such as barrier plates are known for increasing the capacity of the pans and for preventing some loss of material.
It is known that where the material is to be detached from the mineral face by explosive blasting, as is usual for gold mining or in the case of very hard coal deposits, some form of screen or shield can be used with the conveyor to generally retain the material in the working zone. The known attachments and equipment designed for the purposes mentioned are not particularly flexible in the operational sense. A general object of the present invention is to provide an improved form of conveyor for use in a mineral mining installation.